(CNN) – She is seen by some as a spouse who can soften the sometimes stiff demeanor of her husband, Mitt Romney.

But Ann Romney isn’t sure if her husband - a notorious prankster and jokester – will deliver a few punch lines himself on “Saturday Night Live.” If he appears on the famous Studio 8H stage, she says she’d go on camera, too.FULL POST

Greensboro, North Carolina (CNN) - John Edwards' defense team hammered away at a former campaign aide on Thursday after he was quizzed about his motives and asked whether he made up stories about how Edwards allegedly concealed contributions from campaign donors.

On day four of the trial, Andrew Young, the former aide, said "we lost our perspective" during cross examinations, acknowledging using donations for personal expenses at a California home. Young, testifying in U.S. District Court in Greensboro, North Carolina, said he used the funds in constructing a pool and a theater.

(CNN) - The U.S. Senate voted to renew a law designed to combat domestic abuse Thursday after Republicans stepped back from what was becoming a politically risky fight over some of the expansions they oppose to the Violence Against Women Act.

Instead, Senate Republicans decided to leave it to their House counterparts to press for the changes when House and Senate negotiators eventually meet to merge their competing bills.

CNN's GUT CHECK | for April 26, 2012 | 5 p.m.
– n. a pause to assess the state, progress or condition of the political news cycle

JUST IN: Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minnesota, tells Wolf Blitzer that she is “working behind the scenes bringing together all factions of our party,” as the focus now turns to the general election. Bachmann, who unsuccessfully sought the Republican presidential nomination, specifically mentioned that she is reaching out to tea party activists and evangelical voters, in the interview set to air on “The Situation Room” today at 5:25 p.m. ET.

“I have said all along that I will be backing our party’s nominee,” Bachmann said. “What I am doing is working behind the scenes bringing together all factions of our party. Don’t forget, when there was the dust up between Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama, there were 18 million women who had backed Hillary Clinton, they wanted no part of backing Barack Obama. It took time to get them to come over. I am working behind the scenes to knit together the tea party and the evangelicals to come together with conservatives and back our nominee.”

Washington (CNN) - For Republicans and certain presidential nominee Mitt Romney, the best defense appears to be a good offense on issues and themes being pushed by President Barack Obama and Democrats.

In recent days, Romney has come out in favor of steps also advocated by Democrats to hold down interest rates for federal student loans and renew the Violence Against Women Act.

Washington (CNN) – Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wisc., defended his proposed federal budget on Thursday against criticism from some Catholics, who say it violates their tradition’s teaching by putting an undue burden on the poor.

Ryan, a Catholic who chairs the House Budget Committee, told students and faculty at Georgetown University, a Jesuit school, that his budget was in line with his understanding of his faith, though some Georgetown faculty are organizing opposition to his proposal.

(CNN) - On the same day Vice President Joe Biden knocked Mitt Romney for having a "Cold War mindset," two of Romney's national security advisers made references to threats dating back to the Soviet Union era.

The comments came in a conference call with reporters Thursday morning, ahead of Biden's speech targeting Romney on foreign policy later in the day.FULL POST

Washington (CNN) – Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann has yet to formally endorse Mitt Romney's presidential bid, but she said Thursday that it's only a matter of time.

"I haven't come out with an endorsement, but I have said that I want my voice to be a voice of unity and that's my goal," Bachmann said during an afternoon appearance on Mike Huckabee's radio show. "It appears that our nominee is Mitt Romney and I will get behind that nominee."FULL POST